In 1994, Janet Emerson Bashen proved to the world what could be done with a kitchen table, a small amount of capital, and a little ingenuity.

Anyone who understands EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) compliance understands that federal laws require all employees to be treated fairly without regard to national origin, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or religion.

But the problem comes in with how to make absolutely certain that companies with more than fifteen employees who work at least 20 weeks out of a year are in compliance with the law. Enter: Janet Bashen, an EEOC industry technological ‘artisan’ for more than 25 years.

Now in its 20th year of operations, Bashen Corporation is at the top of the chart on EEO-compliance and case management software solutions. Bashen’s first clients included Denny’s and Shoney’s, then eventually Compaq and Goodyear, as well as General Motors and Verizon.

In 2001, Bashen filed her patent application for Linkline, a web-based application for EEO claims intake and tracking. Her patent was issued in 2006 under U.S. Patent No. 6,985,922, putting her in the ranks of “Fabulous Firsts for African Americans.”

Janet E Bashen

Says Bashen “My success and failures make me who I am and who I am is a black woman raised in the south by working class parents who tried to give me a better life by fostering a fervent commitment to succeed.”

The Bashen Corporation is continually recognized for its many technology-based innovations and achievements, having received honors and awards from The Pinnacle Awards, Houston Women’s Business of the Year, the Houston 100, Operation Reachback, Inc’s 500, and the Crystal Awards (presented by the National Association of Negro Women in Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc., for achievement in business.) Bashen has also received DiversityBusiness.com’s Top 500 Diversity-owned Businesses in the United States for years 2008 and 2009.

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In May of 2000, Bashen testified before Congress regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s Opinion Letter of third-party discrimination investigations. She and Texas State Representative Sheila Jackson Lee were instrumental in changing the affecting legislation.

Her civic and community reach includes the Prep Program, the Ronald McDonald House, the North Harris Montgomery County Community College District Foundation, the Houston Area Women’s Shelter, the AIDS Foundation, the National Urban League, the Special Olympics, the National Organization for Women, the National Employment Lawyers Council, LULAC, as well as many other charitable organizations.

A Good Old School Urban Intellectuals SALUTE! goes out to Ms Emerson-Bashen and The Bashen Corporation for making “ginormous” strides in technology and for being an example for today’s Black teens and youth.

Now sit down at your kitchen table and see what you can invent.

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UI thanks to Shaunes Richardson, Founder of State of the Black Parent, for passing on this “Moment in Black History” report.